Bean cleaning apparatus



Aug. 30, 1932.

E. L. CULVER BEAN CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 27. 1928 E. CULVER 1,874,916

BEAN CLEANING APPARATUS Aug. 30, 1932.

Filed Nov. 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 641701 new Patented Aug. 30, 1932 W h l G ELES, CAIIFORNILA emf ornnmne errARA'rus Application filed m m er 2?, 1928. Serial No. 322,122.

' This invention relates to an apparatus for hereinafter, all of which contributeto pro- 1 separating beans from smallldirt clods which :are harvested with the beans; Heretofore it has been necessary to "separate such dirt from i the beansby hand. It has been attempted to accomplish this by screening, but some of the Qd-irt clods are of sufficient size to prevent such an operati-onffrom being effective. The general object of this invention isto provide a special apparatus'for effecting the separa- ;tion of such dirt from beans." The inven- 'ltion is particularly adaptable for treating 'lima beans. Limabeans require very gentle f rubbingbecause if the rubbing is not gentle enough the beans will becomesplit It is very important in treating them' thatsuch splitting should not occur because when in the form of whole beans, they will bring ap.-

proximately ten cents per pound, whereas,

the same beans after becoming split, camot be sold for more than about one ,cent per pound. 'While,of course, these prices may vary, nevertheless the relative value of the split beans is greatly below thewhole beans and for this reason the greatest care must,

be exercised in the construction and operation of an apparatusof this character topre-j vent splitting the beans.

- One of the objects of. provide means for exerting alight rubbing action on the beans in such a way as to crush the small dirt clods," or nodules, without in V juring the beans.

Apparatus embodying the invention is particularly useful in treating screened beans. or screenings which have 'beenseparatedv from other" beans by screening them, and;

these screenings contain a very large proportion of dirt.

One of the ob ects of the invention is to provide apparatus particularly adapted for removing a relatively large quantity of dirt from beans by a single passage through the apparatus;

FA further object ofgthe inventionis to improve the general construction of appara tus for this purpose.

Further objects oftheinvention will ap-f pear hereinafter. e

The invention consists in the novel rt and combinations of parts to be described further illustrating details of the apparatus:

the invention is to 'ablyZ in the form of ascreen'and the other duce an efficient bean cleaning apparatus.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, 'WllllG the broad scope-of the invention is my invention.

Fig. 2is a side elevation'fof the apparatus shown in lqcertainf parts being broken away and shown 1n process.

. Fig. 3 is a vertical'section taken about in. the plane of the line 3 -301? Fig; 1 uponan enlarged scale and particularly illustrating detailsof'iapparatus where the beans are fed intoit. I p

Fig. 4 is a section taken about on the line 4+4 afFig. 1 upon an enlargedscale and In this view theup'per endof the apparatus is broken'away. n

Fig. '5 "is across section about on-the line 55-5 of Fig. 4: taken .at one edge of the screen and particularly illustratingdetails of 'the construction.

Before proceeding to a more detailed-description of the present em'bo'diment of the invention, it should --'be understood that according to my invention employ two memberslibetween which the beans and dirt, or adobe clods, pass." These members are operated in such away that the adobeclods will. be crushed without injury i to thebeans. One of the members is preferinember has a soft construction which will enableit to present 'a yielding surface to the beans which can press the beans against the screen withoutinjuring them, but which will exert sufficient force upon the clods to break the same ,on the screento force them through V the screen, Thisinvention may beembodied in apparatus of var ous types. As there is considerable variation in the size of the clods of adobe, or dirt, thatis' harvested with the beans, I prefer to give the beans a preliminary treatment in-a feederwhich-"operates to separate, or crush out the larger clods and I provide apparatus of a different type'to Referring to the drawings illustrating this embodiment of the-invention, 1, indicates the frame of the apparatus which has an elongated, substantially horizontal portion 2,

and a-substantially vertidal feeder frame The beans with the dirt, or adobe ClQClSj are fed into a hopper 4 from which they are carried up by endless conveyor 5 and delivered into a feed hopper 6Q Betweenthis feed happar and the lower portion of theapparatu's I provide means which effects a separation of the be'anslfrom the larger clods of adobe;

This portion of the apparatus includes an upright screen which is preferably located in a vertical fplanejand cooperating with this screen I provide either a clothed roller or an endlessbelt, arranged soithat the beans and indicated at; 7; in Figures 2 and 3. These dirt pass between the roller anjd the screen. I prefer toemploy two such upright screens,

screens are set up with their upper ends disf posed adjacent to oppositely disposed open ,y.ings '8 in the bottom of the hopper 6, and at 5 these, openings, rollers 9; are located which carry the upper ends of two belts 10. These cient -y 8113151 --;screen.7. p :,-;All of theproductofthis feeding" appa ratus isfdumpedontothe upperendof a secnd scrjeen'ldwhich is supported in the lower frame/ section 2.; This screen preferably supported in a fixed inclined position and" I gispreferablyfsubjected' to rapid vibrations,

,that is tosay, it is'continuously shaken. Any

"as viewed' in"Figuretythis tonguetEZ will "ride up' onthe' cam'-- "track"39.-' to "aboutthe rollers rotate inwardly so that the inner runs .-:l1; of the belt move downwardly along the faces-of the corresponding screens. The runs ,11 of the endless belts are backed up by back-, ing boards lgin the form of cross bars supported on yielding Z plates or backs 13, said jbaeksjbeing attached attheir outer ends to an adjusting bar 14 supported on adjusting Lscrews1 5. 5 These adjusting screws enablethe j position of the b elts 11 to be adjusted toward t e r ns sui l m an ayb e p yed fei t i 'p 'jp,o fse., In the present instance Iprov ide an I ,eccentric agitatlng deviceincluding a cross Gil shaft; 17 (see Fig-41).; carrying eccentrics 18.

" mQunted in strapsthat are' in the form of" jbracketslQ, attached to bars 2O forming the under structure, of a frameZl'that car-rieS the screen 416.; ,,.Th s frame .21j ncli des assi slats. 224m .thel pper edges of which the screen 16 lies. This screen, like the screens 7 is formed of wire mesh of suflicient. gauge to prevent the beans from passing through it. The

frame 21 also includessid-e boards .23 disposed at the side edges of the screen 16 Between these side boards 23 I provide a rubbing member 2a which is in the form of a "clod's. .An'y suitable means may be employed for thispurpose. It should operate to raise 'the rubbing board bodily out of contact with the beans on the upstroke and permit it to enga'ge'th'e beans on the downstroke. In the present instance I actuate this board by means ofytwo pitmanwrods 25, the upper ends of which are attached'to'crank pins 26 on the side of two crank disks'Q'Z, the said disks being in'the form ofgear wheels carried on a; common shaft 28 and actuated y p inions 29 carried on a counter. shaft 30.

This counter shaft BOjis continuously driven hyan endlessbelt' '3li by a motor 32. The

same motor drives a belt 33 that actuates the vibrating shaftl'T threughthe medium of a belt. pune s'i.

The lo'wr"'ends thepitmans 25 are'at 'jtac'hed b y pivot; pins 35 tothe upper side of the boar-c124. As 'thew'hee'ls-27 rotate it will be evident the rubbing board 24c will l6. I- 'prefe'qm 'rov'idein'ean's*so that'on will beheld away from the screen but peririitted to contact with the screen on the uewnwar rnovement. For this purpose I provide a frame 36' in" the form of a yoke "connected td the board 24. The sides of this fframef'areprovided with a plurality of perforations'B anyi onefof'which may receive Q remetaslspinss. This pin projects into :In'fih QPBm l 911 9i hema h e b93115 i and dirt pass downwith the runs 11 of the ,-;belts and these beltsoperate to roll the adobe clod s on the screenandj in I air ay tend the path tr its; corresponding pitman 25. As the pitman nieves upwtrdl as indicated 'itwill engage this Hi ak them p aniqeducre e size i pin 38 and in this way. ra se the upper end e them to passthroughfhe of the board away fromthe screen.

In order to lift the lowereiidofthe rubbing board away from the screen I -providea thatpi'ojects-'-out' over the cam track. As the 'rubbing -board 'Ih'oves vtoward the left,

point 43 where the"tongue="will p'ass out of *the-"am aaaz at which point the lower end Y brastare wi11 -bspermitaa to fall onto the screen.

'fle'kible slats l la-jthe upper ends more up f and de wnfbn the "inclined screen "theupw ard immanent ofthe rubbing board In ears- 6 "iii crease streamin effect of the Vibrating shaft 17 thesc'reeii-fra'me'21 is.

OfIWhiCh are supported "on'stanchions run- 7 ning up from-the Sideboards 23'. i i The under sideofthe'rubbing board 24 is provided withclothing which preferably.

consists of an inner layerq'o-f relatively soft material, such as soft rubberyand an'outer layer, or facing sheet, of fabric Wl'llCl1 CO11l8S in contact withthe face of the screenand 'the beans. In orderto increase the rubbing'effect of the beans and clods togetherto reduce the clods and also to clean the surfaceof the l I P r to provide the under side of the board with. 3' p a y o Pockets46.

These pockets may be simply small pockets formed on theunder side and dispersed over the entire area of the board, but-I 'preferto have these pockets elongated and extending continuously across the board. Between the pockets the effective under surface of the board runs in the former a pluralityof rubhing faces 47 Each of these. faces 47 is covered by an inner clothing 48 ofsoft rubber and the'entire under face of the board is cov- "ered by a facing 49 of fabric which extends up and lines the pockets 46-andcovers the under surface of the soft clothing 48.

The action of the pockets 46 is very important as regards'the prevention of splitting the beans. In the operation of the apparatus the beans collect in these pockets and become gently rubbed on each other as the rubbing board moves toand fro". At the same time the beans collected in the pockets operate as a cushioning support for the rubbing board and keep it from approaching very closely to the face of the lower screen; By reason of the presence of these pockets it'is therefore impossiblefor the rubbing boardto rest on the upper sides of beansthat have their under sides against the screen and the general effectis to produce a gentle rubbing of the "beansbetween the rubbingboard and the screen and at thesameftime'rubbing'them gently against each other to clean ther'ni At the lower end ofthescreen16 the beans and any unseparated dirt passes on to'a riddle 50 consisting of a plate51 with perforations 52in it. Below the riddle 50 a Wire screen 53 is provided which may catchvery small beans passingthrough the riddle.

When the apparatus is being used for cleaning screenings, that is to sa y,"beans containing a very large percentageof'dirt, which may be approximately 50 the upright por-' them,fand in this operation the'surface of thescreen '7 assists by attrition on the inner V -faces'o'f the clods as they'are advanced downwardly by the belts. The action of this part of the apparatus'isquite different from that of the inclined screen illustrated in detail in Figure 4, in'which the beans are rolled 'over and over on the inclined screen and accumulate in the pockets 46 where they rub the dirt between them and break'up'the clods.

After the screenings have passed through the upright portion of the apparatus and delivered to the inclined screen, theywillhave remaining only about 15% dirt. This 15% ofdirtcan be readily removed by the inclined screen and the rubbing board 24.

L-,The inclined portion of the apparatus is not suificiently eflicient when used on beans carrying a large percentage of dirt and if used" alone wouldnecessitatea second pas- V sage, and possibly a third passage, of the beans over the {inclined screen. The use of theupri'ght portion of the apparatus enables bean screenin'gsto be substantially clean in one passage through the machine. i

From the lower end of theriddle the dirt passes over aninclined guide plate 54 onto a delivery spout 55 that delivers the beans into a receptacle. p U

The dirt passing from the screen 16 and53 falls onto the upper run of an endless belt 56 that is continuously driven by the motor32. This belt travels upwardly in an inclined directionon its upper side and passes over a roller 57 that delivers thedirt'at the point 58 substantially under the point of the screen 16' on which the dirt and beans are dumped from the feeding apparatus on the feeder frame .3.

the invention described herein is only one of the manyembodiments this invention may take. and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

WhatI'cla-imisaf g 1. In an "apparatus. for separating beans -"It is understood that'the embodiment of 5105 from small dirt clods gathered with the beans, the combination of an inclined screen, means for feeding the beans and clods down the screen, a rubbing member resting on the beansfand clods, meansfor actuating the rubbing member to move downwardly on the screen while in eng gfl l ent with the beans and'clods and operating to reduce the clods and 'enablethe same to pass through the screen, said rubbing member having flat rubto' produce attrition of the beans and clods in the pockets to reduce the clods. v

' 2. In an' apparatusfor separating beans 'fronrsmallclods of dirt gathered with the beans, the'combination of an inclinedscr'een,

hing-faces with pockets'between the same jonits underside said pockets capable of containing quantities of the beans and clods and operating when the rubbing memberymoves stroke.

means for feeding-the beans anathema the screen, a rubbing member resting on-the beans and dirt on the screen, andlmeansincludlng a cam located near the lower endOf the screen for periodically lifting thei'rxibbingmember'bodily away f'romthe screen at both endson the upstroke and returnthe same to the screen with-a movement'along the screen onthe downstroke'to exertarubbing'action on the dirt and beans.

from small clods ofdirt gathered with the vbeans, the combination of a screen, means for feeding the dirt and beans onto the, screen,a rubbing member resting on the dirt and beans on the screen, a pitman pivotally connected to the upper side of thefrubbing member, a shaftand crank pin connected with the other end of the pitman for actuating the sameto reciprocate therubbing member on the :screen, and means onthe screen for engaging theside. of the pitman and cooperating with the pitman' and rubbingmember to lift the rubbing member bodily ofi of the screen on, one stroke and to permit the I rubbing, member 7 to, engage the screen on the other stroke. I

4., In an apparatus vfor separating beans from small clods of dirt gathered with the beans, the combination of a screen, means for feeding'the dirt and beans onto the screen, a rubbing member resting on the dirt and beans on the screen, a pitm an pivotally connected to'the upper sideof the rubbing memher, a shaft and crankpin connected with the other end of the pitman for actuating the same to reciprocate the rubbing member on the screen, a frame on the rubbmg member havingmeans for engaging the side of the pitman' to lift one end fof the rubbing member away from the screen on one stroke and a cam track with means on the rubbing 'memher for engaging the same on the same stroke of the rubbing member to lift the other, end

of the rubbing member away from the screen, and cooperating to permlt the rubbing memberto descend onto the'screen'on the other between the belts and the screens.

'6. In an apparatus for separating beans from small clods of dirtgathered With the beans, the combination of a hopper with a bottom opening, a pair of-substantially ver- 3. In an apparatus for separating beans .c

sponding screen "and ?close to: the same, and

means for driving the. belts'so that the run :'ofthe belt adjacent the screen moves down- ,wardly, andoperating to drive the'rollers to rotate inwardly on theirlupper' sides, and

means for feeding beans withthec'di'rt into the space between the screens and the belts. Y 7 .In an apparatus for separating beans from small dirt clods gathered with, the beans, the combination of a relatively fixed inclined screen, means for feeding the beans with the dirt onto the upper portionfofthe screen, a rubbing member resting on the beans and dirtjclodsv on; the screen, means for moving'the rubbing member along the screen to crush the clods and enable the same to pass throughthe screen, anda-n eccentric agitating .devlce for imparting" vibrations to the relativelyfixed screen in avertical and horizontal direction. c V c 8. In an apparatusfor separating beans from small dirt clods gathered with the beans, thecombination of an inclined screen, means for ifeedlng the beans and clods; down the screen, a rubbing member resting: on the beans and clodsrand means for actuating the rubbing member to m ove upwardly in cluding cam means at thelower end of the rubbing member, forraising the same bodily at both ends outv of contact with the beans, and on the d'ownstroke permitting therubbing member to rest on the beans and clods, and. operating to reduce the clods and enablef the same to pass through the screen. 9. Inan apparatus for separating beans from small dirt clods gathered with the beans, theco'mbination of'an inclined screen, means for ffee ding the beans and clods down the scree'n,a rubbing member resting onthe beans and clods, ineans for actuating the {rubbing member to move downwardly on the screen while in [engagement with the beans and clods and operating toreduce the clods and enable the same to pass through the screen, saidrubbing, memberhaving fiat rubbing faces with pockets between the. same onHits'under side, 'said fpockets capable of 'containingquantities ofthe beans and clods tical screens, a pair of rollers mounted inthe bottom opening, an endless belt correspondf I ing to each screen, means for guiding a run of each belt ad acent the face of its corre- 

